Council sports budgets cut by £42m

BBC News | 15 April 2015

More than £42m has been axed from councils’ sports and leisure budgets since 2010, a BBC survey has revealed.

Among the regions which saw the biggest losses were London and north-west England, which saw cuts of more than £12.3m.

Sports stars and charities said they were concerned cutting facilities was “short-termism” that could impact on communities’ health and fitness levels.

The government said it was investing in grassroots sport.

Some of the biggest cuts occurred in the North West, where Liverpool City Council closed Woolton Swimming Pool, saving more than £3m.

In the West Midlands, which saw £9.6m of cuts, the region’s only 50m pool – in Coventry – was among the facilities to face the axe. Article